Around
and about British Columbia
By Dimitris & Katerina
Angelatos
The Western
Canada representatives of Patrides
Dimitrios
& Katerina Angelatos
wish
to thank everyone for their support during the past seven years and
together with their family wish a happy Christmas and a prosperous new
year to all Greeks and philhellenes in North America and around the world.
Alexander
the Great Association
On October 27, the Alexander the Great Association of Northern
Greece (Macedonia and Thrace) held its annual dinner dance at the Hellenic
Community centre in Vancouver to remember two important dates in history.
On St. Dimitrios Day, October 26, 1912, the Greek army triumphantly
marched through the city of Thessaloniki. This victory, during the Balkan
Wars, against the Turkish aggressor was a big step for the Hellenic state.
Macedonia, Thrace, Epirus and the Aegean Islands again became Greek. On
October 28, 1940, Greece said “NO” (“OXI”) to the Italians and
soon had the Italians running for the hills. However, when Nazi Germany
intervened, the Greeks paid one of the highest prices in blood under the
German occupation in Europe.
Also customary at the annual dinner dance is the cutting of the
cake in honour of all those who celebrate St. Dimitrios Day as their name
day. As always, there were a large number of Dimitrios’s and Dimitras
present.
Members of the
board of the Alexander the Great Society posing with the guest speaker,
Prof. Andre Gerolymatos (with gift bag), and President Jim Haralambides (4th
from left).
Hellenic Community of Vancouver
The Hellenic Community of Vancouver
again held its annual Food Festival on October 19, 20 and 21. This
three-day indoor event featured Greek food and desserts, dine-in or
take-out. Video and slide shows, tours of St. George Greek Orthodox
Cathedral, children’s activities and music and dance performances all
helped to keep those in attendance entertained. Raffle tickets were also
for sale. The various dance groups included: Hellenic Community of
Vancouver, Greek Orthodox Community of East Vancouver, Greek Orthodox
Community of Surrey, Socrates School, Alexander the Great, Dimitrios
Dancing School, Philhellenic Folkdancers of Vancouver, Cretan Association
and “Anemos”. There were also several other ethnic dance groups
involved.
This festival is the community’s major fundraiser and is usually
quite successful. This year was no exception as they grossed over $91,000.
This festival involved a large number of volunteers of all ages who worked
not only during the 3-day event but also for the many weeks ahead of time,
preparing for the event. Not only is this event a fundraiser for the
community but also an opportunity for many to show their love for their
culture.
“OXI” Day celebrated in Langley
The Greek Cultural Community of Langley celebrated October 28,
1940, “OXI” Day, on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2001. A memorial service was held
at St. Nicholas Canadian Orthodox Church in Langley to commemorate this
important day in Greek history. Also remembered were all those who have
lost their lives due to wars, past and present. A program then followed in
the hall. Both the Greek and Canadian anthems were sung. Speaking on the
occasion were Stathis Dimopoulos and Archbishop Lazaros. Karmelita Gionis
read the message sent by the Consul of Greece Eleni Lianidou as well as a
message from the government of Greece. The program was followed by a free
lunch provided by members of the Greek Cultural Community and members of
St. Nicholas.
Hellenic Canadian Congress
The Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC held its annual general
assembly on Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Hellenic Community Centre in
Vancouver. Vasilis Geranidis, a Member of Parliament of Greece and the
chairman of the Special Committee for Greeks Abroad was a guest speaker at
the meeting. Mr. Geranidis said that the Greeks living abroad in Canada,
United States, Australia, Europe and other places should work together
within their adopted countries. Concerning themselves about the internal
policies of Greece serves no useful purpose. They should set aside those
political differences and concern themselves more with the politics in
their new country. They should also not be so eager to divide themselves
along religious lines or be so concerned about their “social
standing”. Rich and poor should be willing to work together for the good
of all. As a united group not only can they influence policies that affect
them in that country but also influence their country’s policies towards
Greece.
Peter Capadouca, the president of the Hellenic Canadian Congress of
BC, on behalf of all the Congress members, thanked Mr. Geranidis for his
visit. Apostolos Fyssas, past president and director in charge of public
relations, presented Mr. Geranidis with a small token of appreciation. As
well the president of the Hellenic Community of Vancouver (St. George
Greek Orthodox Cathedral), Stathis Bozikis, presented Mr. Geranidis with a
hard cover book on the history of the community and the Greeks in British
Columbia. George Kapiotis, one of the first Greeks here, settled in
Victoria in 1851.
Also on hand for the meeting were the Consul of Greece Eleni
Lianidou and the Consul of Cyprus Soula Berggren. A free dinner reception
followed the meeting.
Mr. Geranidis stayed in BC for a week, consulting with various
community and society leaders in Vancouver and Victoria.
The Congress is again working on putting out another edition of the
Greek telephone directory of BC. It is asking everyone, individuals,
businesses, community groups, churches, schools and societies alike for
their support in this venture. It takes a lot of time and hard work to
produce this book. Several individuals have produced books in the past.
The first, the Blue Directory – the Greek telephone book produced by
Dimitrios and Katerina Angelatos in both Greek and English was published
in 1979 and again in 1983. Several more editions of a Greek directory were
produced in the late 80s by Marinos Pilarinos. In the 90s, the Congress
took over and even they found it a huge task. Their first book came out in
1992. This new one will be their 5th edition. To include your
advertising or to be sure that your listing is included, contact Apostolos
Fyssas at 604-433-7072 or fax 604-434-7052 or e-mail: bccongress@hellenes.ca.
Stathis Bozikis, president of the
Hellenic Community of Vancouver, presents Vasilis Geranidis, visiting
member of the Parliament of Greece, with a copy of a book on the history
of the community of Vancouver.
The Holocaust of the Arkadi
On Sunday, Nov. 11, after the liturgy, a memorial service was held
at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral for all those who have departed
this life due to war and for those Cretans who lost their lives during the
Holocaust of Arkadi. A wreath was then laid at the cenotaph outside the
church in their memory.
In early November of 1866 leaders of Rethymnon gathered at the
Arkadi Monastery to prepare a revolt against the occupying Turks. Hundreds
of local women, children and elderly sought shelter at the monastery.
About 15,000 Turks attacked the monastery which held about 900 Cretans,
only about 300 of which were armed. The Turks suffered heavy losses but
only a few Cretans were lost. On Nov. 10, the Turks arrived with huge
cannon and destroyed the main entrance to the monastery. Almost all the
Cretan fighters were killed. One of the surviving leaders gathered all the
surviving men, the women, children and the elderly in the ammunition room.
To avoid being captured and face Turkish atrocities, he waited until the
fortress was filled with the Turks and then shot into a keg of gunpowder,
blowing up the Monastery and all within. Thousands of Turks were killed.
All the Cretans with the exception of one man and an infant girl were
killed.
This tragic newly prompted many countries to come to the aid of
Crete in its effort to reach independence from the Turks. 135 years later,
Cretans around the world still acknowledge those who sacrificed their
lives to achieve freedom for Crete.
Odysseus across the centuries
The Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University together with the
Onassis Foundation (USA) presented a series of lectures by Dr. Peter Bien,
professor of English and Contemporary Literature, Emeritus, Dartmouth
College, England, for the inauguration of the Onassis Foundation
University Seminars program in Canada. One of the lectures, entitled
“Odysseus across the centuries” was held at Harbour Centre, the
Downtown campus of SFU on November 5. It was open to the public and every
seat was filled. Dr. Bien spoke on how post-Homeric writers, from Pindar
to James Joyce and Nikos Kazantzakis have treated the figure of Odysseus.
A reception followed the lecture.
Aristotle Onassis established a private, independent Public
Benefits Foundation, named after his son Alexander to which he bequeathed
half of his fortune. This foundation actively develops public benefit
projects in Greece and abroad. In 1998, the affiliated Alexander S.
Onassis Public Benefit Foundation (USA) was formed. Its mission is to
disseminate Hellenic civilization throughout the United States of America
and Canada by cooperating with universities, colleges and art institutions
in Greece, the United States of America and Canada. Cultural and artistic
activities concerning ancient, Byzantine and modern Hellenic civilization
include exhibitions, theatrical and film screenings.
Dr. Peter Bien (Dartmouth College)
lectures at Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre Campus on the topic of Odysseus.
SFU awards first certificates in
Hellenic Studies
For the first time, the Certificate in Hellenic Studies was awarded
at the annual Dean’s ceremony at Simon Fraser University. There were
three students who qualified for the award but only one, Dimitris
Petropoulos, was able to make it to the ceremonies on Nov. 2. Not able to
attend were Joanna Katerelos and Angela Giannoulis. On hand for the
ceremonies were Prof. Andre Gerolymatos, the Chair in Hellenic Studies,
and Maria Hatzigiannakis, the program coordinator.
A number of other Greek-Canadians qualified for other diplomas or
certificates but none of them was on hand for the ceremony, Giota
Koumbounis earned a Post Baccalaureate Diploma in the Faculty of
Education. Peter Andrew Remedios earned a certificate in Community
Economic Development, Nicole Marie Chatzispiros a certificate in Liberal
Arts and Sophia Loukopoulos a certificate in Urban Studies.
World War II and the Balkans – The
Greek experience
“OXI” Day: October 28, 1940 and
the Italian invasion
Pharos, the Canadian Hellenic Cultural Society presented another
interesting and informative lecture on Monday, November 26. The upper hall
of the Hellenic Community Centre was packed for the lecture by Dr. Andre
Gerolymatos, the Chair in Hellenic Studies, Simon Fraser University. Dr.
Gerolymatos is an authority on Balkan history and a columnist for the Vancouver
Sun.
He first talked about how Greece was affected by events following
WWI, the expulsion of ethnic Greeks from Asia Minor who then became
refugees in Greece, the economic situation and political instability in
Greece. As a result, Greece had only a small and ill-equipped army and was
not expected to play any major role when WWII began. The Italians thought
they would have an easy victory. They did not expect Greece to say
“NO” (OXI) to them. Instead, the Greek army not only stopped the
Italian invasion but threw them back into Albania. In April of 1941,
Hitler decided to intervene on behalf of the Italians. The Greeks fought
hard but they were eventually overcome by the German forces. As a result,
the German invasion of Russia was delayed for several critical months,
which resulted in the eventual defeat of the Germans there. This is turn
led to the eventual fall first of Fascist Italy and then Nazi Germany
itself.
Before the lecture by Prof. Gerolymatos, Pharos society held
its annual general meeting. Again, as in many past years. the new slate of
officers was elected by acclamation. Pharos is now going into its
22nd year and the next lecture is slated for the last Monday of
January 2002 at the Hellenic Community Centre of Vancouver. These are free
lectures that are open to everyone. Greeks and non-Greeks alike and are a
good opportunity to learn more about the history, from ancient to modern,
of the Greeks.
Posing for Patrides after Pharos
lecture: Apostolos Fyssas (past president, Hellenic Canadian Congress of
BC), Soula Berggren (consul of Cyprus), Dr. Andre Gerolymatos (Chair,
Hellenic Studies, Simon Fraser University), Eleni Lianidou (consul of
Greece and honorary president of Pharos), Gwenyth Lewis (president
of Pharos), Kostas Kaounas (secretary, Hellenic Canadian Congress
of BC), Peter Capadouca (president, Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC).
Tigers “invade” monastery to
benefit wildlife sanctuary
The Canadian Orthodox Monastery of All Saints in Mission, BC, has
become well known by many Greeks who have visited there over the past few
years. Many celebrations have taken place there involving the Greeks such
as picnics, memorials and others. As well, the monks have participated at
many ethnic events around BC, including Greek events such as Greek days,
“OXI” days, and March 25 celebrations. These philhellenic monks have
also become famous for their hand-tipped beeswax candles, which is how
they earn their keep, not only in British Columbia but all around North
America and even into England where some candles were ordered for the 100th
birthday celebrations of the Queen’s mother. The monastery has been open
to all Orthodox Christians of various ethnic backgrounds who wish to
experience the monastic life. Now the monastery grounds have even
attracted the attention of filmmakers.
Recently scouts for the film industry were looking for a film
location for a nature documentary on the Bengal tiger. The film is being
produced for IMAX movie theatres. Most of the filming was done on location
in India with wild tigers. However, they needed trained tigers for some
scenes but the laws of the country prohibited that. The filmmakers needed
to find some place here that closely resembled the tiger’s natural
habitat and that place was the monastery grounds. For two days the monks
were housebound while the film crew was at work on the monastery grounds
and its natural streams with a jaguar and four Siberian tigers, stunt
doubles for the Bengal tigers. The monks gave the use of their grounds to
the film makers for free but the film-makers returned the favour by giving
a donation for the wildlife sanctuary that is being established on the
monastery grounds. Salmon, beavers, eagles and other birds of prey as well
as black bears and other animals frequent the monastery fields and
streams.
The monastery a few years ago also offered the Greeks a large
section, about 5 acres, which included an old building to develop for
their use as a retreat but the Greek Cultural Community of Langley does
not have the resources. A family campground, library, museum, picnic
grounds, nature trails and other uses could be developed if other Greek
communities and societies from Vancouver seized the opportunity and got
involved. Why go across the border to visit a monastery when there is one
in our own “back yard”?